I think I have survived because I haven't done well until now.

Jake Cave, a foreign hitter for the professional baseball team Doosan Bears, started as the third right fielder in the season's third match against the LG Twins in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 13th. He showcased a one-man show with 2 hits (1 home run), 4 RBIs, and 2 runs in 5 at-bats, leading the team to a 9-2 victory and breaking a 4-game losing streak.

Manager Lee Seung-yeop selected Cave as the standout player, stating after the game, 'The home run by Cave in the 4th inning was decisive. I could see that he was getting better as he played, and he showed a sharp swing today. Congratulations on your first home run on Korean soil.'

Cave scored his first RBI from his first at-bat. In the top of the first inning, with the score at 0-0 and one out and a runner on third base, he hit a ground ball to shortstop against LG's starter Son Joo-young, bringing home the runner on third base, Jeong Soo-bin. It was the moment he put the team ahead.

With a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, he appeared as the leadoff batter and hit a left single on Son Joo-young's first pitch. After that, he advanced to third base following Yang Eui-ji's right single and touched home on Yang Seok-hwan's fly ball to left field, tagging up.

The highlight was his third at-bat. In the top of the fourth inning, with a 4-0 lead and one out with runners on second and third, he hit a 3-run home run against LG's Lee Ji-kang. After watching a strike on the first pitch, he launched Lee Ji-kang's second high fastball (142 km/h) into a 118-meter home run, marking his first home run after 12 games in the KBO League.

After the game, Cave expressed, 'It's always nice to avoid a sweep loss. I'm particularly happy to win by a large margin against a strong team.' He added, 'I swung the bat the way I wanted, and the ball went in the direction I wanted. It felt great to hit a home run to the left. I think there will be a lot more home runs to come,' as he smiled brightly.

Cave, a left-handed hitting outfielder from the United States, made his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2018 and has a remarkable career with a batting average of .236, an OPS of .692, 45 home runs, and 176 RBIs over 523 games in 7 seasons. He is a current big leaguer who played 123 games in the major leagues last year with the Colorado Rockies.

Cave signed with Doosan for $1 million before this season, making a full-fledged challenge to the KBO League. However, after the opening, he went through various trials and tribulations and, as if it weren't enough, caught a cold, taking ten days off for rest and recovery. Nothing was going as he wished in the early part of the season.

Cave noted, 'It's obviously not good to miss games due to illness or injury. Although the team won a lot while I was out, I believe that individual success is a reflection of the team’s success, and the team’s success is a reflection of individual success. It's a priority that the team does well.' He added, 'I think it was fortunate that I was injured in the early part of the season. If I were going to miss games, it's better to do so early on.' reflecting on his time in the minor leagues.

In the unfamiliar KBO League, can we say he has now adapted to some extent? Cave explained, 'Baseball is the same no matter where you go in the world. However, I'm still adapting to the form and the pitches of KBO League pitchers. The wind-up is different from the major leagues, making it hard to catch the timing. Also, it's honestly my first experience hearing music while at bat. It's fun. Jamsil Stadium is definitely pitcher-friendly.'

Using his first home run as a stepping stone, Cave dreamed of becoming a valuable foreign player for Doosan. He said, 'I think today's home run will be a turning point. I believe I have survived until now because I haven't done well. A home run came out in a situation where I’m just barely surviving.' He added, 'I hadn't been able to get my swing down, and I was trying to adapt to a new environment, but it seems that success is approaching now.'

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